Last week we explored the ways in which we may be contributing to our pain and the notion that socializing – even when we don’t feel like it – helps us to feel more supported and can even work as a stepping stone to moving on. For me, when I started socializing and having more fun I realized that there was a happy life awaiting me once I truly let go.

This week we examine the third step which is very often overlooked but plays a vital role in letting go and moving on.

Take up hobbies

Once I was socializing more and my spirits had begun to lift I threw myself into taking up hobbies and interests. I read more, I went to creative writing classes, I started this blog and I even drew up my 40 before 40 bucket list! This helped me express myself creatively which brought me joy and satisfaction whilst allowing me view my future with excitement and optimism.

Once you’ve developed your creativity by following the steps you can decide how to be creative. Below I have listed a wide range of creative activities, choose the one that appeals to you the most and begin your creative journey today!

Pottery

Sculpting

Photography

Gardening

Painting (watercolour, oil, acrylic)

Drawing (pencil, pen, pastels, charcoal)

Writing non-fiction

Creative writing

Writing poetry

Song writing

Singing

Playing an instrument

Composing music

Dancing

Acting

Sewing

Knitting

Card making

Calligraphy

Scrapbooking

Origami and quilling

Jewellery making

Mosaics (E.g. mirror frames, tables, pots)

Cake decorating

To me creativity is self-expression in its truest form. There is an innate beauty in the gardener who eloquently expresses how she sees nature, the writer who uses the perfect combination of words to convey his ideas or the photographer who captures the moment flawlessly. These are just some of the beautiful ways creativity communicates our unique view of the world, the very essence of who we are. Begin celebrating your own wondrous individuality by fostering more creativity in your life and embark on a new, more fulfilling life today.

Stay tuned – next week we examine the two extremely important last steps to letting go and moving on.

Do you think you would find expressing yourself creatively fulfilling? Were there any activities on the list that you definitely wouldn’t try? Do you have any ideas for possible creative pass times that I have missed? Please share your thoughts in the comments below to gain encouragement, insight and support from our community, we’d love to hear from you.

Last week we explored the notion that sometimes our pain can be familiar and comforting. This week we look at the first two steps to let go and move on so that your future is full of possibility.

Accepting the situation you are in and seeing it for what it is

When I was struggling to move on I wallowed in what might have been. After several failed attempts at reconciliation I felt more miserable and, rather than accepting it was over, chose to ruminate over memories. I knew my behavior was destructive but at the same time I wanted to hold onto those happy memories, somehow I felt that moving on equated to giving up and losing hope.

When I did begin to move on I did so by telling myself that, no matter what I believed, it wasn’t meant to be. I had to accept that I was mistaken. This was the one truth I had desperately tried to avoid and, as they say in psychology, what you resist, persists.

For you it might be that rather than accepting it wasn’t meant to be you need to accept that it shouldn’t be and see the situation as it really is. This can also be extremely hard, especially when we need to acknowledge when someone we love is treating us without respect, care or consideration.

I think the reason this is often so hard is that by admitting they are treating us badly, we not only have to see them as human (and take them down from any potential pedestals we put them on) but we also have to admit we were wrong about them, which brings a unique kind of pain in its own right.

At the times in my life when I couldn’t face moving on the festive period was especially hard. Harmonious relationships and joyous times flooding the television, portraying a perfect, happy and uncomplicated life only accentuated my pain. This often triggered my thinking back – very much through rose tinted lenses – to my romanticized past.

Of course the holidays can bring up old memories but what I am referring to is a year round state of pain and its associated paralysis, leaving you unable to move past it, with the holidays just making the notion of moving on even harder.

It took me six years to get over my first encounter with romance. I remember agonizing over the pain, the fact that it was the only thing linking us in the present both comforting and familiar. Although I don’t believe in regrets, I look back at that time in my life and want to shake my younger self until I saw sense.

Not only did I romanticize the past but I failed to see how I was actively contributing to my misery in the present. And to make things worse I had shut myself off from meeting anyone new.

My friends all told me to let go and move on but I had no idea how.

Quite by accident I took five important steps which allowed me to release myself from my imprisonment in the past and step into to my future with a happy heart and plenty of hope. If you want to move past the pain, these steps can help you create a life full of joy, laughter and happiness.